Employment or no employment knows no politics, it’s a crisis facing our young people – Minister Nxesi
The Department of Employment and Labour Minister, T.W. Nxesi, said structures within Government spheres must do away with “silo mentality and territorism” as it prevents Government service delivery initiative programmes to reach ordinary citizens on the ground.
In an effort to eradicate unemployment in South Africa, particularly among the youth, Minister Nxesi, engaged with a number of potential employers and work-seekers at the Saldanha and Vredenburg areas in the Western Cape, earlier today (18 April 2024).
The Department of Employment and Labour in collaboration with other Government Departments is hosting a Jobs and Careers Fair, and service delivery initiative in Vredenburg, where Minister Nxesi has paid a visit to work-seekers at the local Vredenburg Sports Ground.
The two-day event commenced with an Employer Breakfast Session, where Minister Nxesi was leading discussions on labour market issues, and mitigating to address unemployment in the province.
Addressing a gathering of employers during the Jobs and Careers Fair Breakfast session earlier today, Minister Nxesi said unemployment and employment has nothing to do with politics.
“I want to repeat this, employment or no employment knows no politics, it’s a crisis facing our young people. So when we deal with the issue of unemployment, we must know that we are dealing with a crisis which is facing our young people.
“And we are saying, we are interacting with all the Premiers, but our intention is very simple because the Premiers have the authority to talk with their Departments and their Municipalities. At the end of the day, if we want these programmes to be relevant they must come to the district and local municipalities and that is our logic,” said Minister Nxesi.
He said the problem with Government is not allowing each other in terms of spheres of Government to conduct programmes every space such as provincial, district and local government.
“The issue of the District Development Model says we must come down to the people to talk with them. The President said we want integration and coordination of all the programmes between national and all spheres of government.
“We should do away with the silos. The problem with government is silo mentality and territorism,” said Minister Nxesi.
The Department and the Minister embarked on the initiative to provide a platform for employers to share information and engage with other stakeholders and to develop partnerships - where labour, government and business can engage in a robust dialogue to find new ways to create more job opportunities.
The Jobs Fair initiative is championed by the Department of Employment and Labour’s Public Employment Services (PES) branch, which seeks to create opportunities for work seekers and provide a platform to interact with prospective employers.
Minister Nxesi said: “These efforts should be understood against President Ramaphosa’s 2019 Budget Speech in which he committed Government to the roll-out of a new integrated district-based approach - popularly known as the District Development Model (DDM) - tailored to promote and support local businesses and local communities.”
“The unemployment rate on the West Coast in general remains alarmingly high. In an attempt to mitigate this, the Department has considered the Jobs and Careers Fair as a useful platform where the unemployed, especially the youth, can meet with prospective employers from different sectors to access both jobs and learning opportunities,” said the Minister.
Today’s Jobs and Careers Fair seeks to provide services cutting across different spheres of government, not limited to the Department of Employment and Labour, Unemployment Insurance Fund and Compensation Fund.
The inter-departmental Jobs Fair and Careers Fair involves the Departments of Small Business Development; and Higher Education, Science and innovation – providing various sessions covering:
- Career information and employment counselling
- Registration of work-seekers
- Exhibitions and Service delivery to the general public by the Departments of Small Business Development; Higher Education, Science and Innovation; Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs; Employment and Labour, UIF, CF, SEFA; SEDA; SETAs; Harambee; NYDA, etc.
- Asking employers to register vacancies and or recruit work-seekers on the Employment System of South Africa (ESSA).
- Different speakers to provide labour market related information to work seekers
- Stakeholders to present Job and learning opportunities, as well as their services
For more information, contact:
Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
082 697 0694 / teboho.thejane@labour.gov.za
